The Corner Table: Top Chef Wisconsin

When quarantine kicked in last spring, we refocused The Corner Table to examine and document effects the pandemic was having across so many facets of food service, cocktails, grocery stores, and local farmers markets.

Now as we emerge, we’re getting ready to close the book on that dismal chapter. 

We decided to take a deep dive into what it means to reopen a restaurant that’s been closed for over a year, and to illustrate that process we decided to focus on one of our shared favorite places in town: Sardine.

For this first episode, we interviewed Sardine's co-owners John Gadau and Phillip Hurley about what it was like to shut down for over a year, their discussions with employees and the factors they weighed during the summer and fall. How were they feeling? What was the financial impact? Where are they now?

In future episodes we’ll sit in on staff meetings and check in with kitchen staff and servers to find out what their COVID year was like. We’ll take you to Sardine on opening day, and we’ll be looking forward to what dining could look like as we emerge, slowly and as safely as we can, from this dining drought.

We are extremely excited about this, so make sure you’re subscribed for all the future installments that will be coming out over the next several weeks.

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This bonus episode is adapted from a live (virtual) conversation and cooking demonstration Lindsay hosted on Tuesday, featuring Cortney Burns — a chef, award-winning cookbook author and UW-Madison grad. As Burns prepared root vegetable fritters, sauerkraut and a sauce made of farmer's cheese, she explained why she's such a fan of fermentation and why she believes home cooks should customize recipes to fit their palates and pantries.

The conversation was broadcast live for Cap Times members. For more information about membership including contributions, visit membership.captimes.com. To find the recipes Burns demonstrates in this podcast, click here. If you want to get a copy of Nourish Me Home by Cortney Burns, place an order at Arcadia Books, a wonderful little bookstore in Spring Green, and they will take 15% off when you enter CT15CB at check out. 

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As we reach the end of 2020 and COVID-19 continues to stomp on our dreams, it’s pretty clear not all the restaurants we love are gonna make it through the winter. When a restaurant like Manna Cafe, Sunroom, Captain Bill’s or Charlie’s on Main closes, what does it leave behind? What do we remember, and where do those stories live? This week on the podcast, Chris and Lindsay talk with JonMichael Rasmus and Nichole Fromm, founders of the blog Eating in Madison A to Z and authors of the 2015 book Madison Food: A History of Capital Cuisine, about the menus and memories left behind when restaurants go away, and what their research taught them about Madison's changing restaurant scene.

Also, a note to our listeners: As podcast editor Natalie Yahr moves to a new role in the Cap Times newsroom, The Corner Table will be going on hiatus. Chris and Lindsay have already begun talking about opportunities for future short-run series and events, and we will let you know when those come about. For now, stay safe and happy new year.  

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Chef Molly Maciejewski has made hundreds of gingerbread houses. As the executive chef and general manager at Madison Sourdough on Madison's east side, Maciejewski hosted yearly workshops, all about making a beautiful, (technically) edible gingerbread home. This week on The Corner Table, Lindsay and Chris chat with Maciejewski about how the gingerbread you build with is different than the gingerbread you eat. We talk candy selection, how to make your icing like spackle, and reflect on why people love making edible constructions like this. And, as a bonus at the end of the episode, we also hear from some of Cap Times' very own in-house gingerbread constructors. (Thanks Quincy and Sawyer! You're champs.) 

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One of our favorite things about the holiday season is all the snacks. Between the traditional meals, it's more than acceptable to absentmindedly nibble on candy, cheese, fruit and nuts. Nutkrack, candied, lightly salted pecans created by chef Eric Rupert, are made for exactly these moments. Rupert is also the executive chef at Epic Systems and has been making candied pecans for friends for over a decade. Now they're available to anyone, toasted and packaged at his little shop on Atwood Avenue. This week on podcast, Lindsay and Chris talk with Rupert about how the pandemic has affected his business, where those petite pecans come from and why they're so compulsively snackable. Give a listen! 

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The pandemic has put an undeniable damper on the Wisconsin way of life, and probably cut down on the number or quality of old fashioneds we're drinking. But while it may be a while any of us are sidling up to the bar at the local watering hole or enjoying ice cream cocktails at our favorite supper club, it's never a bad time to talk about Wisconsin's signature drinks. This week, food editor Lindsay Christians and co-host Chris Lay talk with "Wisconsin Cocktails" author Jeanette Hurt. Jeanette explains why our state loves boozy milkshakes and brandy over whiskey, and she offers us some hope for how we can bounce back once we can return to our neighborhood dives.

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If you've spent time around the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in the last year, you've probably spotted the adorable white robots rolling along the sidewalks or waiting to cross a busy street, carrying lunch to a hungry student or professor. Last year, UW-Madison became the fourth and largest university to try out Starship food delivery robots, and they captured the attention of students and faculty, who'd rescue them from snowbanks or stop them mid-delivery for a selfie. Lindsay and Chris had a lot of questions about this fleet of delivery automatons, so they asked Peter Testory, chief robot wrangler and director of dining and culinary services for campus housing, to explain just how they work.

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What do you think about going paleo? Did you do a Whole30 January? Ever been served up an ad on Instagram for a DNA diet — whatever that means? This week, as part of the Wisconsin Science Festival, we’re digging into our most pressing diet questions with UW-Madison nutritionist Beth Olson, who spends her time helping families make healthy food choices. On the show, we discuss fad diets, what's new in the soon-to-be-released 2020 USDA nutritional guidelines, and how to take a healthy approach to eating for the long haul.  

We are delighted to be among the many cool components of this week's Wisconsin Science Festival, which runs Oct. 15 to 18. Check out the offerings at wisconsinsicencefest.org

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One of our favorite things to do lately is check Instagram to see what “Heavy Kevy” is making for dinner. Kevy is not a chef. He’s not a brand ambassador or social media influencer or an ad rep for anything. He’s just a dude who likes to cook and decided to start making videos about it, and they're pretty great. But we wanted to know more of his story: Why does he say to salt meat like an icy sidewalk? How did he get so good at cooking outdoors? Where the heck is his accent from? This week on the podcast, we get the answers.

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Thanks to summer vacations, we're repurposing an entertaining and educational episode from the archives that doubles as a kitchen safety public service announcement for you, our dear listeners. On this episode, which first ran in March, Rockhound Brewing Company kitchen manager Adam Haen shares some great stories about how not to handle your knives, and offers some very pointed reasons to keep them sharp. Maybe now’s the time to sharpen your knives and in the process take out that pent-up quarantine-related frustration on the edge of a blade.

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